


Denial, Revisited

by with_bleeding_hands



Category: Incredibles (Pixar Movies)
Genre: Bisexual Helen "Elastigirl" Parr, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Lesbian Evelyn Deavor, Mutual Pining, One-Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 15:38:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16875543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/with_bleeding_hands/pseuds/with_bleeding_hands
Summary: "Helen is always praising Evelyn’s ideas and telling her how insightful she is. She does this, Evelyn repeatedly tells herself, because she is a nice person, and when Evelyn responds by telling Helen that she’s a good teacher and pretty damn smart herself, she’s only being polite. It’s not like she’s telling Helen what a good hugger she is or how her smile can light up a room."





	Denial, Revisited

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still working on Redux and Control, but this fic just sort of...fell out of me. So here it is.

Elastigirl is a hugger.

That’s what Evelyn keeps telling herself. It’s true, certainly; she hugs Voyd all the time, and Evelyn has seen her hug several of the other younger supers, even if she has to stretch her arms to hug Brick or Krushauer. Evelyn watches Elastigirl hug Voyd when she reaches another milestone in overcoming her anxiety or He-Lectrix when he improves his accuracy with lightning bolts. She can’t help but notice that when Elastigirl hugs her, she rests a hand at the base of Evelyn’s back. She doesn’t do that with anyone else. She also holds on to Evelyn for longer than she does anyone else except her husband. (Evelyn counted the seconds, but only once. A sample size of one is insignificant.)

It’s strange that Elastigirl hugs Evelyn at all, of course. Yes, the super training program was Evelyn’s idea. But it was idea born mostly out of frustration, out of wishing other supers could be more like Elastigirl. Elastigirl was trying to do the right thing, the super thing, and show Evelyn the error of her ways by visiting her while she was on house arrest. As it turned out, she found the idea of being a teacher for other supers flattering. Meanwhile, Evelyn figured that if supers were going to be legal, there could at least be an effort to minimize the damage they would cause. It was almost a relief to tell Elastigirl that; Elastigirl laughed sadly and said that training was a good start. Evelyn made a remark about how a better solution would be finding a mad scientist to clone Elastigirl so there would be one of her helping every reckless super, and Elastigirl laughed again and touched the back of Evelyn’s hand, and Evelyn told herself that she didn’t feel anything.

Evelyn watches the training, careful to spend time looking at supers who aren’t Elastigirl. She’s a good teacher. Evelyn isn’t surprised. She also isn’t surprised that Mr. Incredible chafes under the idea of being taught by his wife. He has checked out the training center, but he won’t take Elastigirl’s advice. He rejects Evelyn’s conclusions, which pisses her off enough to get upset with him and tell him that a real man can listen to his wife. For a moment after she does that, Evelyn’s afraid that she’s about to be body-slammed through a wall or thrown through a window, but Elastigirl hears the conversation and tells Mr. Incredible how much she’d appreciate it if he were to just try one of her Damage Minimization classes (Evelyn helps with those, giving tips on rudimentary kinematics). He agrees, and Elastigirl gives Evelyn a smile that makes her heart turn somersaults. She squeezes Evelyn’s shoulder and whispers “thanks”.

Privately, Evelyn thinks that Elastigirl deserves better.

She knows perfectly well that “better” does not mean her.

She also knows that it doesn’t mean anything when, one night when they’re working late on a lesson plan, Elastigirl asks Evelyn to call her “Helen”. (It’s probably because Evelyn is still not sold on the idea of supers being legal.) The graphs show that Helen’s training is likely resulting in less property damage and, more importantly, fewer civilian injuries. Next they’re going to work on zoning maps to make sure that there is responsible hero coverage of every area, even the poorer neighborhoods that were under-serviced before. Helen is always praising Evelyn’s ideas and telling her how insightful she is. She does this, Evelyn repeatedly tells herself, because she is a nice person, and when Evelyn responds by telling Helen that she’s a good teacher and pretty damn smart herself, she’s only being polite. It’s not like she’s telling Helen what a good hugger she is or how her smile can light up a room.

Evelyn slips up once, though, when Helen mentions that she’s dieting to lose weight and Evelyn blurts out that she doesn’t have to do that; she’s perfect how she is. She thinks she manages to salvage the situation by turning it into a screed on how women’s clothing doesn’t fit anyone well, and Helen laughs and agrees. She also gives Evelyn a tight hug, which Evelyn isn’t expecting, and she comes far too close to holding on to Helen for too long.

As more supers join the program, Helen begins spending more time at the training center, staying later, and she and Evelyn pore over graphs and sip coffee and talk sitting closer to each other than they really need to. Evelyn notices that Helen’s Georgia accent comes out more when she’s tired, and she tells herself that it’s because Helen is sleepy and not thinking the first time Helen calls her “darlin’.”

One night, Helen and Evelyn work late on reworking the zoning map and Helen decides it would make more sense for her to stay at the center overnight than to go home. There isn’t really a place for her to sleep...although that isn’t entirely true. To make Evelyn’s house arrest easier (for the NSA), she’s now bound to the center instead of one of the many Deavor abodes, and she set up a double bed in a closet that wasn’t being used. So there is a place for Helen to sleep: Evelyn’s bed. Naturally, Evelyn offers to sleep on the mats in the gym area and let Helen have the bed; this is where Evelyn lives, essentially, so she’s being a good hostess. 

“You don’t have to sleep on gym mats,” Helen chides her. “There’s room for both of us.”

There is, but only if they lie close. Evelyn wonders if Helen planned this; she brought her pajamas and her toiletries to the center. Speaking of her pajamas, they’re an adorable affair, white pants and short-sleeved top with red piping around the sleeves and collar. Evelyn tears her eyes away from Helen, feeling strangely self-conscious in her DevTech logo pants and white camisole. She still tries to not look at Helen as she climbs onto the bed, so she isn’t expecting it when Helen’s arms wrap around her waist.

“Snuggle with me?” Helen asks in a voice that’s warmer than it really needs to be, and Evelyn is too surprised to say no.

Evelyn is fairly sure that snuggling with someone who isn’t one’s spouse does not constitute cheating. But she may have to change her mind about that after experiencing the way Helen holds her close, one hand pressed into the low of Evelyn’s back, the other gently touching Evelyn’s hair, almost caressing. Evelyn ends up with her head tucked under Helen’s chin and one of her arms wrapped around Helen’s waist. Helen is warm and soft, and she smells so good…

Helen’s hand slides down to the nape of Evelyn’s neck and Evelyn shivers, because _oh_ it feels good but she can feel the metal of Helen’s wedding ring against her skin…

Evelyn thinks about disentangling herself from Helen, but she can’t bring herself to move, at least until Helen’s hand moves from her back to cup her chin and lift her head. Now she’s looking Helen in the eyes and their faces are close, too close. “Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?” Helen asks tenderly, but Evelyn still can’t pull herself away, not until Helen’s thumb brushes over her lower lip. Evelyn jerks back, and she thinks she instinctively says “no” as she sits up, her neck still tingling where Helen was touching her. If Helen’s husband could see what just happened...he’d touch Evelyn’s neck too, to snap it like a twig. “Helen, you’re _married_ ,” Evelyn gets out.

Helen sits up. “It’s not cheating to snuggle with my friend and compliment her,” she says.

“You were _not_ touching me like a friend,” says Evelyn, turning away from Helen. “Stop it. Please. Don’t do that anymore.”

“I thought—” Helen begins. Evelyn cuts her off.

“It makes me hope, okay? Every time you hug me or compliment me or call me a pet name, it makes me think ‘maybe she does care about me’ or...or…’maybe I would have a chance if she weren’t married’. And that hope? That hurts. Because I know that hope is actually bullshit. So stop it, okay? No more hugging and touching and making me think that maybe you feel the same way about me that I do about you.” The words fall out of Evelyn’s mouth before she even realizes what she’s saying. It’s only when she hears them out loud that she realizes they’re true.

Helen reaches for Evelyn’s shoulder, but pulls her hand back, respecting Evelyn’s wishes. She moves to sit beside Evelyn. “Would it be okay if we snuggled just tonight, and then the...embargo starts tomorrow?”

Evelyn feels herself nod before she can think. She lies down again and Helen holds her tightly. She stretches her arms so she can encircle Evelyn multiple times and whispers, “Is this okay?”

It feels amazing. Evelyn says “Yeah,” trying to sound noncommittal. It isn’t long before she falls asleep, feeling...she would almost say “cozy”. She isn’t sure, but as she’s drifting off, she thinks she feels Helen kiss her hair.

In the morning, Helen’s arms have reverted to their normal length and aren’t around Evelyn anymore, so it’s not as fucking impossible as Evelyn was worried it would be to get up and start the coffee maker while pointedly not thinking that those brief but meaningful moments of physical contact between her and Helen are no more.

Evelyn is awake and dressed and drinking her second cup of coffee while poring over pie charts when Helen shambles in sleepily, wearing her super suit but not her mask. “Morning,” Helen says, and Evelyn can hear the unspoken “honey” or “sweetie” that was originally intended to follow that word. 

“Morning,” says Evelyn, wondering if she should start calling Helen “Elastigirl” again to emphasize how not close they are. “How did you sleep?” The usually meaningless, polite question is out of Evelyn’s mouth before she can consider the implications.

Helen blushes and smiles, and Evelyn makes herself look away. “Very well,” says Helen almost shyly.

“When is your husband getting here?” Evelyn asks, aware that she’s being about as subtle as a nuclear bomb.

“He’ll be here soon,” says Helen, her voice much stiffer. “It’s Sunday, so Vi can babysit.”

Evelyn nods. “Grab that pie chart, will you? I’d like to get some of this out of the way before people start showing up.”

Helen obliges. Evelyn is both relieved and disappointed when Brick and Voyd show up not long afterward, and from then the day proceeds normally. Helen and Evelyn co-teach Damage Minimization, which Mr. Incredible has grudgingly been attending. Evelyn is walking to the bathroom after the class ends when a hand falls heavily on her shoulder. Not Helen. Brick or Krushauer, or…

“Did you hypnotize my wife?” Mr. Incredible demands, spinning Evelyn around. She almost loses her balance.

Stupid question; of course she did. She hypnotized him, too. So what’s he going on about? “What the hell are you talking about?” she demands before she can think better of it.

“I saw the way she was looking at you today,” says Mr. Incredible, his voice angry, almost a growl. “She stayed the night here last night. What happened?”

Evelyn feels the ghost of Helen’s thumb against her lower lip. “What did she tell you?” Evelyn asks guardedly.

Mr. Incredible’s hand curls into a fist and his brow furrows, and Evelyn’s blood runs cold. She’s going to die. Her mind immediately goes to Helen because she wants her last thoughts to be of someone she loves.

Someone she _what_?

Oh.

Shit.

“I’m not trying to steal your wife,” Evelyn insists, and tears sting her eyes, angry tears, because Mr. Incredible is about to break her spine and he’ll probably get away with it because he’s a hero and she’s just a villain and it isn’t _fair_...

“Honey?” comes a familiar voice, and Evelyn lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, because it’s Helen. “Is everything okay?”

Mr. Incredible turns away from Evelyn and hugs Helen tightly. Evelyn knows a power move when she sees one. Or maybe he’s just concerned that Evelyn has done something terrible to Helen. Helen looks a little surprised, but she hugs her husband back. Evelyn makes herself watch. The sooner she stops loving (that word again…) Helen, the better. 

“We should go home,” says Mr. Incredible.

“Is everything okay?” Helen asks, sounding a little anxious. “Is it the kids?”

“No.” Mr. Incredible takes his wife’s hand and leads her away; Helen glances quickly at Evelyn over her shoulder as she walks. Evelyn goes into the bathroom, calmly enters a stall, locks it, and vomits neatly into the toilet. Apparently being afraid for your life can make you lose your breakfast. Huh. She’s vaguely annoyed at the waste of good coffee,

By the time she manages to shamble into the center’s lobby for more coffee, the Incredibile and the newest Elasticycle are no longer parked outside. She’s still shaking a little as she pours her coffee, and Voyd asks if she’s okay. Evelyn, of course, lies and says yes. (Voyd is proving to be okay too, as supers go. Her obsession with Helen is certainly understandable. And her control is improving. Evelyn and Helen have been discussing a class in meditation and relaxation techniques for supers with anxiety issues; that would probably help Voyd even more.)

Helen is back the next morning and Evelyn decides to head off whatever thing Helen is going to tell her that she doesn’t want to hear. She greets Helen’s “hello” by telling her that she’s going to move back in to the place where she was on house arrest before the super training center opened, and she’s not going to come to the center anymore.

Helen is more upset than Evelyn thought she would be. “What? Why?”

There’s nothing to lose by telling the truth, so Evelyn does. “It’s too hard to be around you,” she says. “I need to be alone and get over whatever this thing is.”

“You’re instrumental to this place,” Helen insists. “You can’t leave.” Her voice is trembling, but Evelyn doesn’t think she’s angry.

Evelyn shrugs. “I’ll be accessible by phone. But I probably shouldn’t work closely with you that way either.”

“I don’t want you to do this!” Helen sounds almost like she might cry, but she’s wearing her mask, so it’s hard to read her expression. Evelyn fights back the instinct to take her hand.

She’s not sure what to say. She doesn’t know what Helen wants to hear. “Forget about me. Okay?” Evelyn says. “Or just think of me as the person with the pie charts. Not as a friend, or...or anything else.” As much as she’d like to be friends with Helen, it’s too late now. Their core beliefs aren’t as misaligned anymore, but Evelyn is aware that it’s damn hard to go back to friendship when one or both(?) of the people involved has romantic feelings.

Helen visibly tries to collect herself. “Can I hug you?” she asks. “One more time?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Evelyn sees the Incredibile pull up in front of the center. She shakes her head no, says a hasty good-bye, and walks out. (She has already arranged for the NSA to allow her traveling time to get back to her house.) She doesn’t look at Mr. Incredible as she passes him, just heads in the direction of her house. She should have asked for the NSA to provide a ride, but she wasn’t at her sharpest when she made these arrangements, and the NSA didn’t care how she got where she was going as long as she stayed on the authorized route.

She gets to her house eventually, lets herself in, and isn’t sure what to do with herself. She forgot transportation for herself, but in true scientist fashion, she has made arrangements for her super analysis research to be sent to her here. She finds a notebook and begins scrawling ideas for DevTech; Win hasn’t said anything about finding a way to keep her designing even after her criminal convictions, but the company is going to suffer without her inventions. And she doesn’t particularly feel like thinking about superhero shit right now.

Evelyn’s tears fall on the notebook, dry, and wrinkle the pages. She tries not to dwell on this.

Her super research shows up eventually, and she keeps working. The NSA won’t let her go to any libraries lest she research hypnosis further, so she tasks Brick and Voyd with checking out books and papers on anti-anxiety techniques. It turns out Brick has been studying martial arts her whole life and knows some basic stuff about meditation, so Evelyn isn’t surprised when Brick ends up leading the anti-anxiety classes at the center.

Evelyn mostly works with Brick, now; it turns out that not only is she a bruiser, she’s smart. She has a head for statistics and Evelyn works with her on the damage reports and other analyses. Evelyn isn’t really surprised; she has learned not to make snap judgements about anyone’s potential scientific ability, not when so many people assume she can’t be a scientist because she’s a woman. Working with Brick also means that Evelyn has a good reason to work with someone at the center who isn’t Helen, which is partly good, because Evelyn feels like she’d cry again if she heard Helen’s voice, and partly bad, because Evelyn doesn’t care if she cries a river, she wants to hear Helen say her name again.

Things go on like this for several months. Sometimes Evelyn hears Helen’s voice in the background while she’s on the phone. She tries to ignore how her heart races when that happens. But she never speaks directly to Helen. She hears through Brick that Helen is spending a lot of time with Voyd, who found out her landlord was homophobic and was invited to live with Helen’s family. So, Evelyn concludes, Helen didn’t have much of an attachment to her; she was just curious about exploring her attraction to women, and now she has moved on to Voyd. Mr. Incredible probably tolerates that because Voyd is a super. Okay, then.

Then Helen shows up at her door.

Evelyn has been listening to music and didn’t hear the Elasticycle pull up, so she assumes it’s someone from the NSA coming to give her a drug test or something, and then she opens the door and there’s Helen. She’s wearing fairly ordinary civilian clothes, gray slacks and a black turtleneck, and she looks staggeringly beautiful.

“What are you doing h—”

Evelyn is cut off as Helen hugs her so hard she’s knocked back slightly into the entryway, and before Evelyn can fully process what’s happening, she notices how soft Helen’s lips are, and she’s a good kisser, she’s a _very_ good kisser—

She’s so gentle—

Helen pulls back slightly and touches her forehead to Evelyn’s. “Sorry,” she whispers. “I couldn’t wait to do that any more.”

“Your husband is going to _kill me_ ,” says Evelyn when words are happening for her again.

“It’s been a long few months,” murmurs Helen, resting her hands almost possessively on Evelyn’s hips. “Couples therapy. Talking to doctors who thought they could ‘cure’ me of how I felt about you.”

A chill shoots down Evelyn’s spine. “Please tell me that all they did to you was talk.”

“Yeah. When Bob heard about the aversives…” Helen smiles sadly. “He’s very protective.”

Evelyn swallows. “Yeah, I know.”

“Three different doctors said I wasn’t under the influence of post-hypnotic suggestion,” Helen continues, her voice soft. “But most importantly...I missed you. I _really_ missed you. And Bob couldn’t stand seeing me unhappy.” She kisses Evelyn’s cheek. “He knows I’m here. I can kiss you all I want now.”

Evelyn thinks that she will probably want a more detailed explanation and more reassurance that Helen’s husband isn’t going to take her head off later, but as Helen’s lips meet hers again, she can’t bring herself to care.

**Author's Note:**

> I will probably pull an Orson Scum Cad and write a longer fic with this idea in it. But again, haven't abandoned the other fics.


End file.
